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Tag: Akure

  • Akure bomb explosion: Consignment was meant for quarry firm – Police

    Ondo Commissioner of Police, Undie Adie, has dismissed insinuations that the bomb that exploded at the outskirt of Akure in the wee hours of Saturday was being conveyed for terrorism purposes.

    Adie said the explosion was an accident and that the bomb was acquired by a quarry firm.

    The Ondo CP stated this after undergoing all the processes, the bomb was escorted by police personnel from the explosive ordinance department.

    He said the vehicle developed fault and the team managed to convey the vehicle to non-residential area.

    According to him: “That is the normal thing. When they need the explosives, they go through the process of acquiring them. They are duly escorted by the personnel of the police explosive ordinance department.

    “The department is charged with taking care of explosives. These consignment was being escorted. Along the road here, the vehicle developed fault. When the driver noticed it, they tried it move away from where there were houses and see how they put out the problem.

    “They noticed that smoke was emitting from the engine. The effort to put out the fire was not possible. They have to move out and that was the best professional thing to do. That is why they are safe. Fortunately the school here was not in session. It is an accident. It is not what we have control over.

    “I have called the MD of the company the consignment was meant for. It was meant for a quarry. We have cordoned off the place and asked the people to stay away from here. Our EOD units are on ground. Throughout the night they were here.”

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who was at the scene, warned residents in the area to stay away because the truck conveying the explosives was buried in the crater.

    The Governor said some unexplored explosives might be buried with the truck.

    His words: “The destruction made by this disaster can only be imagined. I have gotten brief from the security and the preliminary report to me is an accidental discharge of explosive that was in transit through Ondo State to another state where it was needed.

    “We will advice all citizens not to come near this place at all. This happened about 1am. All of us in Akure heard the sound. The people should vacate and move out of this premises.

    “The vehicle carrying this explosive is buried in the crater created by this explosive. The people should allow the police do their work. We should not forget the other problem of corona virus.”

  • Akeredolu advises residents to steer clear of explosion site

    Akeredolu advises residents to steer clear of explosion site

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has urged residents to steer clear of Saturday’s explosion site at Ilu Abo on the Akure-Owo express way.

    A truck laden with dynamites being transported to Edo from Lagos State had developed a fault and exploded around 1am.

    The governor, who visited the scene of the explosion on Saturday, said the destruction caused by the explosion could only be imagined, advising residents to allow the bomb squad to do its job.

     

    GOVERNOR AKEREDOLU AT THE EXPLOSION SCENE

     

    “I have had thorough briefing from head of our security agencies and the preliminary reports received was that it was an accidental discharge of explosives that was in transit through Ondo state to another state where it was needed.

    “We will advise all citizens, all residents of Ondo State, not to come near this place at all, they should vacate and move out of this premises.

    “As we are told, the vehicle that was carrying this explosives is buried in the crater it created, so we never know what number of explosives are left.

    “Let everybody give the police, the bomb squad, space to do their work and we will know what to do,” he said.

    He urged residents not to forget that the coronavirus was still raging, urging residents to avoid crowded areas.

    “Right here where we are standing, we are not safe, tell the people to move back and allow police to bring out the vehicle that is buried there,” he said.

    No casualty had been reported as at the time of filing this report. (

  • See photos of properties destroyed in Akure explosion

    See photos of properties destroyed in Akure explosion

    It is no longer news that no fewer than 50 persons were injured and many properties smashed during an early morning explosion in Akure, Ondo State.

    The explosion, which occurred about 1 am on Saturday, also cut off the Akure/Owo road.

    Below are the pictures from the explosion scene

     

     

  • Irate youths set ablaze Akure church over missing baby ‘buried at altar’ [VIDEO]

    Sotitobire Miracle Church in Akure, Ondo state, has been set ablaze by irate youths over speculations that the corpse of a one-year-old boy declared missing was exhumed in the church.

     

    It has not been confirmed if the body of the child was found in the church.

    TheNewsGuru gathered that the police are said to have intervened in the chaos reportedly shooting an operator of a motorcycle taxi and arresting some journalists who were covering the incident.

    Back in November, Gold Kolawole the baby, was declared missing during a church service.

    According to sources within the church, the boy who was at the children’s department of the church could not be found after the service.

    Modupe Kolawole, mother of the child and member of the church, said she suspects foul play in the disappearance of her son.

    Alfa Babatunde, founder of the church, was arrested following the incident, and he has been in the custody of the DSS.

    He was arrested based on a petition written by the parents of the missing child.

    The Ondo state police command have asked residents to disregard the rumour.

    In a statement, Femi Joseph, the command’s spokesman, said it is not true that the body of the missing child was exhumed in the church.

    ”The Ondo State Police Command wishes to inform the general public particularly the People of Ondo State that they should disregard the rumours making the rounds that the body of a recently declared missing boy in the state has been exhumed from Sotitobire church in Akure,” he said.

    ”It is most unfortunate that this misleading information spearheaded by a popular TV station, has ignited a spontaneous reactions from the people leading to wanton destruction of properties and injuries to many. The church building was also set ablaze by irate youths.

    ”Some of our officers despatched to the scene to contain the situation were pelted with stones with many of them sustaining injuries. Their patrol vehicle was also badly damaged. This rejoinder became necessary to disabuse the minds of many Nigerians who might have fallen for this wicked lies and propaganda.”

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B6N0aM1j5Qo/

  • Drunk policeman goes on stabbing spree, injures nine in Ondo

    Not less than nine persons have seriously been injured by an allegedly drunk policeman, identified as Taiwo Orisadare, who went on a stabbing spree at a nightclub in Akure, the Ondo State capital, at the weekend.

    The policeman, attached to the Area Commander’s office, Akure, allegedly stabbed the victims, who were said to be young men, at a popular club in Alagbaka GRA during a brawl on Friday night.

    According to an eyewitness, the policeman, who was reportedly drunk, started harassing the victims, who had come to relax at the club.

    It was gathered that trouble started when the policeman began pestering and harassing one of the victims at the club.

    The eyewitness said, “It was clear that Sergeant Orisadare was drunk and he was already becoming uncontrollable at the club.

    “He won’t just listen to those trying to tell him to take things easy. It got to a point that things went awry as he started attacking everyone he could lay his hands on. In total, he stabbed nine people before he was overpowered.”

    Another source said some of the victims were currently receiving treatment at various hospitals in Akure, while some were in critical conditions. However, there was no loss of life in the incident.

    When contacted on the development, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident and stated that both parties were engaged in a brawl.

    He stated that Orisadare was also injured in the fight and had been taken to hospital.

    Joseph said, “There was a fight between the policeman and some young men, but we have started investigation into the matter.

    “All those involved in the brawl are already in hospital receiving treatment. But if at the end of the day we find our man culpable, we will deal with him, because we don’t tolerate indiscipline in this command.”

  • Toddler, four others die as fuel tanker falls, explodes in Akure

    Toddler, four others die as fuel tanker falls, explodes in Akure

    Tragedy occurred on Wednesday evening in Akure, the capital city of Ondo State as a petrol tanker carrying 33,000 litres of petrol fell at Shagari Village junction on Akure-Owo expressway, killing four people and a toddler.
    The incident occurred few metres to an NNPC petrol station as the tanker spilled its content on the road and later caught fire, burning no fewer than seven vehicles.
    Information from eyewitness revealed that a commercial bus and six private cars, as well as many motorcycles, two residential houses and many shops along the road were also affected.
    According to an eyewitness, the victims, whose identities were yet to be identified as at press time, were occupants of the burnt vehicles who were trapped and burnt inside the affected vehicles without rescue.
    “The tanker was on a high speed when a Toyota Corolla car suddenly crossed the road, as the tanker driver was trying to avoid hitting the car, he swerved off his lane and the vehicle fell on the car and caught fire immediately.”
    The eyewitness added that the inferno had started several hours before the men of Ondo State Fire Service arrived the scene to put it out. He added that some men of the state police command and the men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) supported sympathizers to minimize the effects of the incident and casualties.
     

  • 2019: Obasanjo holds secret talks with Afenifere leaders in Akure [Photos]

    As the 2019 election year approaches, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday visited leaders of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, at the residence of the leader of the group, Pa Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, Ondo State.

    The meeting, which lasted for almost 30 minutes, had the former President calling for the cooperation of the group to save Nigeria from collapsing.

    Speaking during the visit, Obasanjo commended the Afenifere for being at the forefront of fighting for the interest of the Yoruba nation while he was working towards the interest of the country as a whole, noting that the two parties were working towards the same goals of fostering unity among the people of the country but on a different pedestal.

    The former President recalled how he had visited the leadership of the group some 20 years ago, seeking the group’s support for his election but said he was rejected by the group.

    He said, “I remember visiting Pa Abraham Adesanya thrice in Lagos before the 1999 election and I was asked to join Afenifere and Alliance for Democracy then, but I told them that AD was a cul-de-sac.

    “Pa Abraham told me that if I joined, things would change; but I refused to join them. I went back the second time, but they refused to work for my emergence.

    “I went there again the third time, but Afenifere maintained their stand. They refused to vote for me; but I secured my votes outside Yorubaland, though they supported me in 2003 for my re-election.

    “Our priority is now one. If we do not join hands to repair this country now, it will collapse and this could be disastrous.”

    The Afenifere leader, Pa Fasoranti, while responding, said the visit of the former President was historic and first in about 20 years, adding that the Yoruba group was in support of the ex-President’s moves to achieve peaceful and virile Nigeria.

    He commended Obasanjo for his struggle to make Nigeria a better place, assuring him of the support of Afenifere to join hands with him in the struggle

    Fasoranti said, “We want to encourage you in your struggle to make Nigeria the best. You are fearless and that is one of the traits of a good leader

    “We have been watching you; and your dreams of a better Nigeria shall be realised.

    “Nigerians are at a crossroads; we are tired of the killings, kidnapping going on across the country and the President is mute about it.

    “We are in full support of all the letters written by Obasanjo to President Muhammadu Buhari on the state of the nation. We are dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country. The country is not being run properly.

    “Nothing is being done properly in this country presently. Look at the killings in the North. The President is very silent about it.

    “We are all Nigerians. If he can keep silence about the killing of his people, that is bad enough.”

    The Afenifere leader declared that the group was in total support of the coalition of political parties to forge alliance against President Muhammadu Buhari in the next general election.

    “It will be the joy of everybody to present a formidable team to confront the evil government that is there now,” Fasoranti stated.

  • Pastor’s wife commits suicide in Ondo

    A Pastor, Adeolu Babatola, is helping Police detectives in Ondo State to unravel the mystery surrounding the death of his wife, Opeyemi Babatola, whose body was discovered, on Monday, hanging in an uncompleted flat in their compound in Akure, the state capital.

    It was gathered from a Police source that the 52-year-old mother of three hanged herself in an uncompleted flat in her residence located in Aule area of Akure metropolis on Friday.

    The husband of the deceased, Pastor Adeolu Babatola, who reportedly discovered the decomposing body on Monday, quickly informed the Police.

    It was learned that the husband told the police detectives that the deceased informed him that she was going for a church programme, until her decomposing corpse was discovered three days later.

    A family member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the woman might have killed herself because of one of her children said to be in prison’s custody over a crime, as the hearing of the matter is this week.

    The source said: “She told her child and her husband that she wanted to go to a mountain to pray. So since Friday her husband was thinking she was at the prayer mountain praying for the family because that was not her first time of doing so.

    “On Monday morning, the husband went to the back of the other apartment in the house and discovered that there were many houseflies on the window and decided to open it only to discover the dangling body of his wife and he raised alarm.”

    It was gathered that immediately the news of the incident broke in the area, the Police was invited to the scene, but they could not do anything to untie the woman.

    Hours later, some traditionalists were invited to bring down the corpse.

    The family source added that the husband, Pastor Babatola, is in police custody undergoing interrogation.

    Contacted, the police spokesman, Femi Joseph, confirmed the incident, noting that detectives have commenced investigation.

    Joseph said that “the husband is with us and helping us in our investigation. He narrated his side of the story and we are still investigating his claims.

     

     

  • FUTA, partners launch satellite, NigeriaEdusat-1 into space

    FUTA, partners launch satellite, NigeriaEdusat-1 into space

    At Exactly 10:07 a.m. on Saturday, the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, made history when the SpaceX Falcon9 Rocket launched Birds 1 satellites, comprising 5 CubeSats belonging to Japan, Ghana, Mongolia, Nigeria and Bangladesh, into Space from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, USA.

    The Nigerian CubeSat, code name NigeriaEdusat-1, is designed, built and owned by FUTA in collaboration with the National Space Research and Development Agency, NASRDA, Abuja, Nigeria, and Kyushu Institute of Technology, Japan. Ibukun Adebolu of FUTA’s Department of Mechanical Engineering is the representative of Nigeria on the project. The initial launch scheduled for Thursday June 1 was aborted due to adverse weather condition.

    The satellite is expected to dock at the International Space Station, ISS, on June 5 at 10:30 a.m. Nigerian time. It is the first ever University satellite to be launched in Nigeria. From the International Space Station, the satellites will be deployed into lower orbit during the last week of June 2017.

    The major objective of NigeriaEdusat-1 is capacity building, i.e. domesticating the satellite technology in a Nigerian university, FUTA, and making the technology a common business among staff and students of the university in Nigeria for the purpose of research, resources and environmental management and sustainable socio-economic development of the nation.

    The satellite technology development in the long run shall have spillover effects on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education that is an essential tool for a country industrial development.

    Mr. Adebolu, who is involved in the Structure Configuration Design, BIRDS Project gives details of his role on the project, “My role in the Birds’ Project is Structure Design. Drawing on my background in Mechanical Engineering, I am saddled with the task of ensuring that our satellites have sufficient strength and rigidity to survive the rigorous launch and space environments. In order to achieve this, I have to ensure that all payload and Bus System are properly accommodated within the 10-cubic centimeter structure. I find this very challenging, because it involves a lot of optimisation and trade-offs. In the future, I hope to work more on other aspects of satellite design.”

    The Vice Chancellor, Joseph Fuwape, said with the successful launch, FUTA has shown the capabilities of Nigerian scientists and would build on the success to concretize its leading position in cutting edge researches and scientific breakthroughs.